you will be safe in my arms
by thingyoulovemost
Summary: in which Charming is hurt trying to protect Emma in Neverland, and she realizes just how much her father loves her.


**A/N: Daddy Charming is my kryptonite, and through a conversation on twitter I got the idea for this. This is dedicated to Carol (marymargaretnolan), Shay (tacobellefrench), Lacey (goodwinginny) and Reese (****snowcharming) :) Hope you all like it! p.s. I promise I haven't forgotten about my Charming Family AU story! I've just been super busy lately!**

**Disclaimer: Not my characters, just my words :) Credit to the brilliantly evil minds of Kitsis and Horowitz. **

_See, here's the bloody, bloody truth_

_You will hurt and you will lose_

_I've got scars you won't believe, wear them proudly on my sleeve_

_I hope you'll have the sense to know that sadness comes and sadness goes_

_Love so hard and play life loud_

_It's the only thing to give a damn about_

_But take the best of what I got_

_And you know no matter what_

_Before you walk away, you know you can _

_Run, run, run_

_Back to my arms, back to my arms_

_Run, Run, Run_

_Back to my arms, and they will hold you down_

_-run by p!nk_

Emma Swan sits on a moss-covered rock under a canopy of trees deep in the Neverland forest, trying her best not to wince as she wraps a bandage around the small cut on her arm she received in their run-in with whatever creature that was… hell if she knew. It looked like a cross between some kind of bear and a… wolf? Whatever it had been, it was _huge_. Between the six of them they were able to take it down without too much trouble, but there had been a rocky moment when the beast had lunged for Emma, swiping at her arm. It had just grazed it because without a moment's hesitation, her father had thrown himself in front of her and taken the full force of the blow. Livid, Snow had taken out the beast with an arrow to the heart, sending it toppling to the ground much like the ogre she'd saved Emma from back in the Enchanted Forest.

So now her mother sits on a boulder across from her, gently tending to her father's rather nasty wound on his left shoulder. He clearly is trying to put on a brave face, but Emma can see through the act. He's in serious pain, and all because he was trying to save _her_. As she stares, she suddenly realizes this isn't the first time he'd been willing to sacrifice himself if it meant she'd be safe. Emma's breath catches in her throat as she notices his scars, the long one running down his shoulder and the deep, angry red one above his stomach. She's never seen them before and _oh_. She knows what those scars are from, knows what they mean and the enormous weight they carry. He almost _died_ fighting Regina's men to protect her and then spent 28 years in a coma under the curse.

The sight of them hits her, hard, and Charming glances up to notice her staring and gives her a tight smile and then winces as Snow puts more pressure on the wound. Emma can't let him suffer for her, not again, not when he's given so much (everything) already. Her lips press into a tight line and she looks over at Regina sitting on the ground next to her. Glancing back at her parents quickly to make sure they're not looking at her, she whispers to Regina, "Can I do something to help him? You know, like… to heal him?"

Regina glances at Charming, then back at Emma as she nods.

"Well… how do I do that?"

"Love," Regina says simply. "You love him, right?"

"I…" Emma starts, eyes widening in surprise as she realizes that yes, she does. Both of them, her mother and her father. Snow White and Prince Charming, who gave everything for her and still continue to do so, unconditionally. "Yes," she says. "I do."

Regina nods. "Focus on that, on the emotion you feel and you'll be able to heal him."

Emma looks back over at her parents and knows she has to do this. She rises and makes her way over to them, and they look up to see her approaching and smile warmly at her.

"Sweetheart, how's your arm?" Snow asks, concern in her voice.

But Emma isn't listening. She lifts the cloth that's pressed onto Charming's wound and tosses it to the ground, wincing as she takes in the five claw marks brandishing her father's skin.

"Emma, what are you-" Snow starts, but goes silent when she sees the determined look on her daughter's face.

Emma closes her eyes and thinks of her father. David, Prince Charming, the man who's sacrificed so much for his family. For _her_. She thinks of how he got those scars, saving her life while almost losing his. And he did that again today. He never even hesitated. He probably didn't even think twice. She's come to understand that he'd do absolutely anything for her, and it blows her away.

She opens her eyes and meets his baffled gaze, then looks back at his wound. That same white light that appeared both when she blasted Cora away and deactivated the diamond begins to emit from her hands and something within her knows to slowly move her hand over his wound, causing it to fade until it disappears.

Both Snow and Charming look up at her in awe, and she nods as she says softly, "For saving me. Today and the first time."

Snow has tears in her eyes, and Charming smiles solemnly at his daughter as he says, "Thank you, Emma."

She nods again as she sits down next to them on the boulder.

Snow rises, running her hands across where Charming's wound was before cupping his cheek in her hand. "I'll give you two a minute," she says, before going over to join the others.

Emma looks down at her feet as they sit in silence for a moment before looking back up at him, at his scars. He knows what she's looking at, and the air around them grows heavy with the weight of their meaning.

"I can't ever pay you back for what you've done for me, but I hope being able to use whatever this magic is that I have to help the people I love is a start."

"Emma…" Charming shakes his head. "You never have to repay me for anything. Especially saving your life. That's what fathers do, they protect their children at any cost. I'd do it again a hundred times if it meant saving you from being hurt."

Emma swallows the lump in her throat as she meets his gaze.

"You're my daughter and I love you, so very much," he says with a smile and watery eyes.

After a beat, she leans her head on his shoulder, right above his scar, and says quietly, "I love you too, Dad. Thanks for always saving me."

"Always, Princess," he replies with a kiss to her head.

She chuckles softly at the nickname before scooting closer to him and readjusting her head and closing her eyes.

Charming looks up to see Snow watching them, a tear rolling down her cheek as she smiles at him and mouths, 'I love you'.

He mouths it back to her, then glances back down at his daughter, who's nodding off on him. He cherishes these moments with her more than anything, and thinks back to the moment he first laid eyes on her and she breathed her first breath, the moment he knew that she'd forever hold his heart in a vice-like grip with him wrapped around her impossibly tiny fingers. It's still true, he thinks. He'd take on a whole army for her. He knows Snow would do the same. This is their baby that's currently sleeping on his shoulder. His daughter. His spunky, fierce, brave and beautiful daughter. If there's one thing he's come to know to be the truest thing in the world, it's that a father's love is deeper than any ocean could ever be. He is wrapped around her finger, wholly and completely, and he couldn't care less. She may be the savior to everyone in their world, but to him, she's his little girl. His Emma.


End file.
